- Proceeds to fund digital finance growth, product development
- Deal eclipsed Monde Nissin’s 2021 IPO as the country’s largest
- Debut contrasted with weak appetite for some AI-linked listings
MANILA/HONG KONG — Fintech firm Mynt, operator of mobile wallet GCash, ended flat on its first day of trade market after raising around $967 million in the largest-ever IPO in the Philippines, marking a steadier debut than recent regional technology listings.
The stock opened at 6.60 pesos per share, in line with its offer price, and rose as much as 2.4% to 6.76 pesos before closing at 6.60 pesos. The closing price valued Mynt at about 442 billion pesos ($7 billion), making it one of the country’s largest listed companies.
“Mynt’s flat debut is a plausible outcome given the development of regional listings,” said Ke Yan, head of research at Singapore-based Shenton Research. “Issuers have to balance valuation against getting the money raised to get the deal done.”
Mynt’s IPO and market debut comes amid a recent broader selloff in AI-related shares globally, which saw some IPOs getting pulled or delayed, and investors becoming more selective.
Firmus pulled its Australian IPO, while AirTrunk delayed its planned Singapore REIT listing. South Korean AI firm Elice fell sharply on its debut, while Eswin and Transsion, which listed in Hong Kong this month, closed below their offer prices on their first day of trade.
Mynt’s IPO, which raised 60.9 billion pesos after including an overallotment option, surpassed Monde Nissin’s 52.2-billion-peso IPO in 2021 to become the Philippines biggest-ever IPO, according to LSEG data.
In a Tuesday stock exchange filing, stabilizing agent UBS said it may purchase up to 1.204 billion overallotment shares in the open market during the stabilization period, which ends no more than 30 days from the listing date.
Global investors including BlackRock, Citadel and Fidelity International bought Mynt shares in the IPO, in what analysts say, would be a boost for a Southeast Asian market, which has struggled to attract foreign investments.
The Philippine stock market index is down 4.08% so far this year, and foreign investors sold 20.86 billion pesos worth of shares from January to August, a PSE monthly report showed.
Mynt President and CEO Martha Sazon said the listing marked a new stage in the company’s effort to broaden access to financial services for Filipinos who have long been outside the formal banking system.
Nearly 90% of GCash customers come from low- to middle-income households, she said.
Biggest in the Philippines
Mynt, backed by Globe Telecom, Ant Group and Ayala Corp, owns GCash, the Philippines’ largest finance app, according to its prospectus. The platform offers payments, money transfers, lending, savings, investments and insurance products.
The domestic market-focused company had 41.5 million monthly active users in the three-month period that ended on June 30, or nearly 56% of the Philippines’ adult population, according to its IPO prospectus.
GCash users completed payment transactions worth 9.84 trillion pesos in the first half of 2026.
“It is a record and, more importantly, a statement of confidence in Mynt, in the Philippine economy and in the strength of our capital market,” Philippine Stock Exchange President and CEO Ramon Monzon said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the listing came at a time when the stock market needed renewed investor interest and broader participation, adding that attracting fresh capital remained a challenge.
He said strong demand from local and international investors offered a “reason for optimism” and reflected continued confidence in Filipino enterprises.
Mynt sold 8.03 billion shares at 6.60 pesos each. Mynt plans to use the proceeds to fund growth in its digital financial services business, product development and general corporate purposes, according to its prospectus.
Mynt said that for the six months ending June 30, its net income rose 7.3% from a year earlier to 10.82 billion pesos. Revenue rose 10.4% to 43.27 billion pesos.
Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and UBS acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO, while Jefferies, CLSA and HSBC were international joint bookrunners. BPI Capital and BDO Capital served as domestic lead underwriters and joint bookrunners.
($1 = 62.9790 Philippine pesos)
— Reporting by Karen Lema in Manila and Yantoultra Ngui in Hong Kong and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Sumeet Chatterjee, Thomas Derpinghaus and Kate Mayberry
